Holbrook delighted following Saints’ rout of Cas

Justin Holbrook heaped praise on his side as St Helens eased to victory over Castleford.

The Saints dismantled last year’s league leaders with ease, securing a 44-6 victory over Daryl Powell’s side.

The victory will only add to the hype surrounding the Saints, and Holbrook did little to play down his side after the game.

“The boys were fantastic tonight and we got off to a great start,” he said.

“Everyone will get better as the year moves on and I’m sure Castleford will be disappointed. But from our end we couldn’t have asked for anymore.

“We didn’t expect to win with that scoreline of course. You’re always confident with your pre-season but when round one comes you know you have to perform and tonight we did.”

Meanwhile, Holbrook also reserved special praise for Ben Barba, who dazzled in the display and scored two tries.

“Ben was really good, especially when we were down to 12 men and he came up with that big tackle. Then, on the very next set he scores a try too. Special players produce special plays and he did two in two minutes. He was fantastic.

“I didn’t predict he would have such a good night but I always said he would produce some of the things he would do. He has had a good pre-season and came back two-and-a-half weeks earlier too. If you do those sort of things you get the rewards don’t you?”